To tech or not to tech.

Getting old technology to work with new, its a pain...a real pain.

We have this old TV set, some 10 years old. I was attempting to do the impossible. Getting the S-Video output of my machine to work on the TV. This old TV from SHARP takes only antenna input and the old type of VCR input. The VCR port wasn't working, sigh. To use the antenna port, i got a S-Video to single video, two audio out cable. This kind of connector generally works with recent TVs. Then i had to put these wires in a RF converter whose output is the antenna type one. But even after this double level of conversions i couldnt get the TV output to work. It gets real frustrating when something that your trying for half a day doesnt work, damn.

This is the problem when technology progresses at speeds greater than the life of its components. Same is going to happen with DVDs and in recent future i believe to everything. DVD format wars are on with heavy weights supporting both the HD-DVD format and the Blue-ray format. These discs have huge, real huge capacities and support the new age technology like "managed copy". This kind of technology will prevent people from copying stuff from them, much to the pleasure of hollywood studios. They just love that, the ultimate anti-piracy weapon. But the immediate side-effect is that you and me have to get a new DVD player or a DVD-ROM/RW. Technology, is its own enemy. But thats the way it is.

The other thing is the revolution in socket technology, if i may call it that way. Today we use serial ports, parallel ports, 10 types audio-video in/out ports, scsi, rj-xx and what nots. One of the Google founders, it was Larry Page i guess, suggested that why don't we use USB ports for everything or atleast something like it. Nowadays a horde of devices connect using USB ports. The good part is USB ports can also be used to provide power. So if we start using them everywhere, you just have to keep a single type of connector, a USB to USB. And you should be able to use it for your computer, your TV, DVD players, cellphones, battery chargers and any other thing you want it for. Now you know why Google is what it is.

So if somebody says "To tech or not to tech" you know thats its not a choice, there is just a single option.

Category [ _Tech_ ]